Til Death Do Us part

Big Deaths on Homeland and The Good Wife Breathe New Life into TV’s Finest Dramas

Last year TV saw a lot of major deaths. But two deaths in particular, Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) on Homeland and Will Gardner (Josh Charles) on The Good Wife, mean basically rebooting the shows they belonged to. Both characters were fan favorites and their absences will be keenly felt. But the deaths of these leading men mean a whole new life for their leading ladies, and that’s not a bad thing.

Despite outward differences, Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) and Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) have one very important thing in common: they’re prodigiously good at their jobs. Personal and professional obstacles may get in the way, but when it comes down to it, Carrie is an impressive, instinctual spy and Alicia a brilliant lawyer. But these shows weren’t sold to the audience as “look at this spy and this lawyer, aren’t they great at their jobs?”.

Instead we got two love triangles. Alicia, her boss, Will, and her philandering husband, Peter, vs. Carrie, Brody, and Carrie’s patriotism. There’s nothing really wrong with these premises; they obviously make for compelling drama. But they’re premises that can only be stretched so far, and they’re premises that often sold their strong female leads short. Alicia’s biggest professional move, starting her own firm with Cary, was mostly motivated by her desire to remove herself from the temptation of Will. Similarly, it hurt to watch someone as talented as Carrie self-destruct over and over again for someone as undeserving as Brody. Saul knows.

But in the loss of Brody and Will, both Homeland and The Good Wife have fully embraced life without a love triangle. And I promise you, you won’t miss it. Even with some promising candidates waiting in the wings, like Rupert Friend’s Peter Quinn on Homeland and Matthew Goode’s Finn Polmar on The Good Wife, the shows seem content to let their leading ladies stand on their own for awhile.

In the wake of losing Will, Alicia shed herself of Peter as well. This allows her to not only focus on the well-being of her firm, but opens her up for a political race of her own. This is one the most well-worn Good Wife plots, but it’s the first time Alicia will leave the supportive spouse position and take center stage. And from what we’ve seen of the season so far, if she’s going to enter the race, it’s going to be on her own terms.

But all this premise rebooting is far better news for Homeland, which struggled much more in its second and third season than The Good Wife ever did. Carrie is still being pulled in multiple directions in the new season; what would the show be, after all, without the contrast of her personal fragility and professional skill? But the pull is only tangentially related to Brody and it manifests in a way that’s much more palatable than seeing a woman collapse over a married, deceptive lover. In killing that worn-out toxic relationship, the show can finally be good again. And so far, it is.

Here’s hoping that every show is as brave as these dramas when it comes to abandoning premises that no longer work. Yes, The Good Wife did it against its will, but it still gets credit for not immediately slotting another actor into Josh Charles’s place. High-concept shows like the new comedy Selfie, which show potential outside of their limiting premise, might do well to follow in the footsteps of Homeland and The Good Wife. Just because you set out to tell one story doesn’t mean you’re stuck there when something doesn’t work.